Every creator, entrepreneur, and artist wrestles with the same question: How do I charge for my work in a way that feels fair—to my audience and to me?
Too often, the focus lands on price: How much should I charge? Will people be willing to pay? What if I price myself out? But price is the wrong starting point.
The real question isn’t about price. It’s about value.
People pay for things they believe are worth more than what they cost. A $3,000 custom-made guitar isn’t always purchased by someone with endless disposable income. It’s bought by someone who sees $100,000 of value in it. The guitar isn’t just wood and strings—it’s craftsmanship, artistry, status, and identity.
And that’s the shift: People don’t buy based on price. They buy based on the value they perceive.
So the real work isn’t in lowering your price. It’s in raising the value.
Two Paths
There are two ways to approach pricing your work:
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- Be the cheapest. Compete on price alone, racing to the bottom where margins are razor-thin, and every dollar feels like a struggle.
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- Be the best value. Make something that people believe is worth more than what they’re paying.
Almost no one brags about buying the cheapest thing, if it’s also pretty lousy.
But people love talking about something that was worth every penny.
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- “This microphone wasn’t cheap, but the sound quality is insane.”
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- “These shoes cost a little more, but they’ve lasted me five years.”
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- “That course was expensive, but it changed how I think about my business.”
Nobody complains about price when they feel they got more value than what they paid for.
How To Serve People Who Aren’t Paying Premium
Not everyone can afford luxury prices. But that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice revenue.
Take Danny Meyer, founder of Shake Shack and Union Square Hospitality Group. His fine-dining restaurants in New York serve high-end meals at premium prices. But Shake Shack? It’s fast food with an elevated experience—a way to deliver value to a much wider audience without racing to the bottom.
Instead of serving a few hundred high-paying customers a month, Shake Shack serves thousands every day. That scale is what makes it work.
The same applies beyond food:
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- IKEA democratized access to modern furniture. Instead of serving only the wealthy, they made great design affordable at scale.
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- MasterClass turned elite mentorship into an affordable, scalable model, letting millions learn from world-class experts.
If you want to serve people who can’t pay premium prices, here are two options:
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- Sell to more people. Instead of working with one-on-one clients, create something scalable. A course, a membership, a group coaching model. The more people you serve, the lower your price can be while still making an impact.
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- Increase perceived value. A $40 concert ticket isn’t just about hearing music—it’s a memory, a connection, and a moment that lasts far beyond the show. Likewise, your course, design work, or podcast isn’t just raw, isolated “content.” It’s transformation, insight, connection. Expand on these stories and make them clear to the people you seek to serve. The more valuable it feels, the more people will be willing to pay.
Charge in a Way That Feels Right
Creators often feel guilty about charging. But if your customer knew what you know—if they understood the full value of what you’re offering—would they buy?
If the answer is yes, then your price is fair.
The real challenge isn’t getting people to pay. It’s making them see that what you’re offering is generous, and contains meaningful value worth more than the number on the price tag.
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